- UTEP and NM State will square in the first round of the battle of I-10 at the Don Haskins Center at 7:05 p.m. MST Tuesday.

- All UTEP faculty & staff will receive free admission to the game by showing their ID while all other tickets will be $5 for adults & $3 for kids. The contest will also serve as the first of three “Grand Prize Giveaway” nights.

- Audio & video of the game will be available through subscription-based Miner TV on UTEPAthletics.com

- The Miners (1-0) bested UTPB, 75-58, on Nov. 8 in their season opener while the Aggies (0-0) cruised past WNMU, 75-60, in an exhibition contest on Nov. 2.

- UTEP is in the midst of a season-opening six-game homestand, the second longest in program history. Only the 2008-09 campaign (seven contests) featured a longer stretch in the Sun City to start the year.

- UTEP is 12-1 in November since starting the 2011-12 season. It is 39-22 all time in month under head coach Keitha Adams.

INSIDE THE SERIES

- NM State leads the series, 47-33, but the Miners are 23-17 at home.

- UTEP has played NM State at least twice every year since the Miner program was founded (1974-75).

- UTEP is 14-10 against the Aggies during the Keitha Adams era, making her the lone coach in program history to sport a winning record in the “Battle of I 10.”

- The average score in those games is UTEP 65, NM State 61

- Half of the games in the series in the Adams era have been decided by seven points or less.

- Miners are 9-3 at home & 5-7 in Las Cruces under Adams.

- Five of UTEP’s nine sweeps in the series have come under Adams’ direction.

- Junior-college transfer and El Paso native Stacie Telles matched Parker with 12 points, including nine on triples, in a successful debut in front of her hometown crowd.

- The Miners led the Falcons picked second in the Heartland Conference, 43-23, at the half. UTEP eased off the gas pedal in the second half, as head coach Keitha Adams trotted out several different combinations in an attempt to get a feel for her deep squad.

- Eleven different Miners scored in the game, with senior Kayla Thornton (nine points & nine rebounds) falling just short of a double-double. Freshman Sparkle Taylor pitched in eight off the bench, aided by six makes on 12 tries at the charity stripe.

- Senior Kristine Vitola chipped in six points and grabbed seven boards in an efficient 18 minutes of action in her return to the court after missing most of last year with a torn ACL. Sophomore Jenzel Nash, who redshirted last year as well due to a torn ACL, pitched in four points and four boards while battling foul trouble.

- UTEP, which crushed UTPB on the boards (52-37), connected on 30-of-45 free throws at the charity stripe. The 30 makes rank sixth all time in the single-game standings while the 45 makes check in fifth in its single-game record books.

GETTING TO KNOW YOU

- NM State returns two starters from last year’s team that finished 15-16, 7-11 WAC.

- The Aggies beat WNMU, 75-60, to tune up for the year. Freshman Moriah Mack & sophomore Abby Scott led the way with 16 points.

- Eight newcomers are in the fold for the Aggies.

- NM State is led by third-year head coach Mark Trakh, who is 21-40 with the program. Overall he stands at 309-228 in his 19th year as a collegiate head coach.

- NM State was voted third in the WAC preseason poll. Sasha Weber was picked as a second-team selection in both polls.

- New Mexico State University is a major land-grand university in Las Cruces, N.M., which was founded in 1888 under the name of Las Cruces College.

- It took on its current name in 1960.

- Notable alumni include actor Scott Bailey, who is best known for his playing the role ofSandy Foster on the CBS soap opera Guiding Light, and former Olympic basketball player Chito Reyes. Additionally, Clyde Tombaugh, who discovered the planet Pluto (since reclassified to a dwarf planet), taught astronomy at the school from 1955 until his retirement in 1973.

RUNDOWN ON THE 2013-14 MINERS

- The Miners are in search of a third straight 20+ victory campaign, which would be a program first (22-10, ‘12-13 & 29-4, ‘11-12).

- UTEP will play host to the C-USA Championships (March 11-15, 2015) for the second time since joining the league.

THE BASIC FACTS ON UTEP

- This is the 40th season of UTEP women’s hoops.

- Overall record of 470-596, including 1-0 in ‘13-14.

- UTEP has posted four 20+ win seasons in the past seven years.

- UTEP has won three conference titles, including claiming both the 2012 C-USA regular season & tournament championship.

- The Miners’ first league crown was in 2007-08 when they became the first C-USA women’s team to go 16-0 in league play. Aiding that was a school & league-standard 23-game winning streak

- UTEP has appeared in two NCAA Tournaments, forging a mark of 1-2 at the “Big Dance.” The Miners earned an at-large bid in 2008, advancing to the second round. UTEP secured the automatic bid last year but was derailed by national power Penn State, 85-77.

- The school is in the midst of its centennial celebration, which will continue through ‘14-15.

- One of three Miners with at least 800 points, 100 steals & 600 rebounds.

- UTEP has won 68 games since she & classmate Kelli Willinghamarrived on campus in 2010. That ties for 8th by a UTEP class.

- 6th place held by Izabela Piekarska & Kasia Krezel with 76 (2004-08).

Kelli Willingham (Senior)

- 3rd Miner with 700+ points & 300+ assists (300).

- Second at UTEP for career free-throw percentage (.795), third in three-pointers made (161), attempted & career starts.

- Fifth in assists & seventh in minutes played.

- UTEP has won 68 games since she & classmate Kayla Thornton arrived on campus in 2010. That ties for 8th by a UTEP class.

CLIFFSNOTES ON 2013-14 CAMPAIGN

- Kayla Thornton poured in 22 points to lead a quartet of Miners in double figures, and UTEP throttled St. Mary’s 81-51, in its lone exhibition contest of the 2013-14 season at the Don Haskins Center on Nov. 2

- The Miners led 40-17 at half & were up by 30+ points for the final 13 minutes of the contest.

- It marked the return to the court for both Nash and Vitola, after each missed last year due to torn ACLs.

The Last Meeting

New Mexico State

44

UTEP

66

December 5, 2012
Don Haskins Center

UTEP Stomps I-10 Rival NM State, 66-44
Buoyed by freshman Irene Gari's career-high 19 points and stifling defense, UTEP pounded I-10 rival NM State, 66-44, at the Don Haskins Center Wednesday evening. The Miners (7-1) bolted out to a 36-14 lead at the half before putting it on auto pilot over the final 20 minutes against the Aggies (5-3).